The present invention concerns a new and improved fibre material feed apparatus having a feed roll and a feeder plate operatively associated therewith on an opening roll of cards or opening machines in spinning preparation.
Feed devices of the type mentioned are well known on cards. In such arrangements, for instance as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,966 or U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,333, normally a feed roll is arranged upstream of the licker-in roll of the card and, for instance, a feeder plate is arranged at a feed table upstream of the feed roll. This feeder plate in conjunction with the cylinder surface of the feed roll forms a feed gap or clearance through which the material is taken-in. This gap or clearance extends from an entrance or mouth end of the concave feeder plate to the other end thereof and terminates at the licker-in roll. The fibre material supplied to the card is engaged by the feed roll and taken into the clearance or gap and at the end of such clearance or gap is transferred to the zone of the rotating licker-in roll which opens the fibre material.
On cards as well as on opening machines, and thus, to the feed rolls of these machines, the fibre material is supplied, for instance, in the form of a fibre layer or lap consisting of coherent fibres. In the known feed devices the piecing and inserting of the fibre layer into the concave feeder plate is difficult and complicated, particularly if the feed roll has a large working width, as required, for example, on large cards. This is so because the front end of the fibre layer reaching the feed roll in many cases cannot be inserted and taken-in evenly and certainly not simultaneously into the clearance. Consequently, the fibre layer is not seized sufficiently and simultaneously across its entire working width by the feed roll. As the extent of the clearance or gap is small in relation to the thickness of the incoming fibre layer, there can be caused fibre material accumulations or damming-up of the fibre material, which also impairs the desired insertion. On the other hand, if the clearance or gap is chosen wider, the disadvantages mentioned above also are not eliminated. Since the central region or portion of the feed roll, particularly on cards of large working width, is only accessible with difficulty, the fibre layer also cannot be manually inserted or by using tools in the desired manner into the wedge-shaped clearance of the feed roll.